Losing touch with your body’s natural hunger and satisfaction signals can lead to chronic overeating – and unhealthy extra pounds that can lead to diabetes, heart disease, and other serious conditions. When Swedish researchers compared the eating habits and weight of 4,359 people, they found a consistent pattern: Overweight people ate more snacks than normal weight people. And if you snack on junk foods, you’re also flooding your body with trans fats and saturated fats, excess sodium and sugars and refined carbohydrates.

With determination, anyone can fix bad eating habits and anyone can get to a healthier, more natural weight. By acknowledging the psychological issues behind your snacking habits, you’ll find that there are other choices besides eating that provide what you need. By paying attention to your hunger signals and switching to healthy snacks, you can boost nutrition, control cravings, lose weight, and avoid energy slumps.

Here are some tips to fix our uncontrolled snacking:​Reacquaint yourself with hunger. If you’ve lost touch with the feelings of hunger and satisfaction, try post posting eating until your stomach is truly hungry and your body is craving fuel. You might be surprised at how long the wait is!

Before you eat rate your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10. On the hunger scale, 1 is “starving, feeling light-headed”, 5 is “comfortable”; and 10 is “so full I feel sick”. Your goal: Eat only when you reach a 3.Stop eating well before you’re stuffed. Finish when you reach a 6 on the hunger scale – just a little bit full. You’ll eat less – and be truly hungry again in time for your next meal or snack.

Satisfy emotional hunger the right way. So much of snacking is related to stress, boredom, even sadness and depression. If you need a psychological boost, don’t turn to chocolate. Treat yourself to relaxation or fun. Take a walk, call a friend, or make plans to socialize. Express anger, frustration, sadness, and other emotions to a confidant, a journal, or the person who’s triggering your feelings.

Put a stop to mindless eating. If snacking is simply a long held bad habit that helps you get through the day’s routine, it’s time to ban chips, ice cream, pretzels, and all other snack food from every room except for the kitchen or lunchroom. If you can’t take a break, and chewing and drinking are comfortable to you, turn to sugarless gum and tea or ice cold water to satisfy your needs.

Plan snacks like real meals. Try healthy, high-fiber fruits and fresh vegetables such as baby carrots or cherry tomatoes, and for a more substantial snack, perhaps some whole-grain crackers, with a dab of peanut butter. Put your snack on a plate, pour a glass of water or a cup of tea, and sit at a table to enjoy it.

Try and put some of these tips to work for you today and not only cut your chances of illness down the road, but lose some excess weight in the process. Not a bad deal if you ask me!

I am guilty of having bad snacking habits. I fully agree with replacing snacks. Once I switched to healthier snacks, I didn't feel as crappy. You're right about adjusting your mental process too. There's no way I could possibly tell you how many times I've stood in the pantry and said "Are you truly hungry or do you just want to crunch on something?" LOL!! Answering the question honestly led me right back to bed or to carrots and hummus.

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kris jane

11/12/2016 03:52:41 am

I already know that junk foods are bad for the body but I just can't help it especially when I was younger. But now, I'm doing my best to fight the urge to eat bad snacks that often because I want to live healthier and happier. Thanks for this very helpful post for people like me.

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Britanica

11/13/2016 04:51:35 pm

Very good tips! I find I do sometimes mindlessly snack and other days, I don't actually eat until I know I am hungry like stomach growling and everything! To day is a good example. I ate one meal because it was the only time my stomach told me to eat! I will eat again before I go to bed but I do make sure to drink water when I am not eating a lot through out the day. I also eat less when it gets colder. I tend to lose weight in the fall and winter and gain it in the spring and summer. lol

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